Streamer and subscriptions: How are you streaming music?

[DannyBoyNYC]

I tried Roon with both Qobuz and Tidal. Qobuz had more tasteful recommendations that Tidal but in the end I disliked Roon's awkward multiroom capabilities (unlinking and relinking in order to change configurations?!) and its much lauded "dig deeper" capabilities fell flat compared to simple internet searches. I enjoyed its PEQ capabilities and informative sampling, resolution and chain information but in the end it was not enough to keep me on board. The fact that I had to pay for two services meant that they fell to the knife in my twice yearly "culling of the subscriptions" and I went back to Spotify (can't cancel due to family) and Apple Music (crappy, mass market oriented) which I get as part of a larger subscription package (and allows me to listen to Joni Mitchell and Neil Young and other artists who've dropped from Spotify for one reason or another).
I use Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil on a headless server and primarily Spotify Connect for sending and for whole house audio and do not have a library that I care about maintaining or growing. I never use the manufacturer supplied apps for music selection or streaming. Airplay support is important to me but I almost never use it via MacOS or iOS (its a hot mess) unless streaming from Apple's excellent Classical Music app which is currently iOS only.
My systems (4 in total) would probably be labelled "mid-fi" by most audiophiles (WiiM, Fosi, NAD) but I don't believe I'll achieve appreciably better sound by paying big $$$ for audiophile boxes and cables - apart from speakers that is. I'm sure many will say something along the lines of "your system isn't resolving enough to appreciate..." but for me its less about the gear and more about the music.

 

[diem]

I use an Allo USBridge as my streamer, running Moode Audio. I selected this since the hardware had a focus on sound quality for the audio path/segregation from the compute electronics. I like Moode because it includes high-quality parametric equalization, crucial to counteract my listening room's response curve.

I stream only my own carefully curated local library of audio files. In this way I can be confident that I know exactly which performance/recording I am hearing. Too many online streaming services are vague about these details which, considering the potentially huge sonic effects of the digital transfers process, is a major weakness. I also do not like for the vagaries of Internet routing to be part of my listening chain.

The only service I pay for Spotify, solely as a discovery source for new music.

HTH,

Ian

 

[Frank Ostrander]

I stream a number of sources using iTunes on a Mac mini. D-to-A is accomplished locally using an Edirol UA-5, and remotely on a number of Apple TV (3G) units around the house. Source selection and volume are controlled from my iPhone using the Remote App. I like the Apple TVs for multiple simultaneous playback because they sync very well (no delay from one unit to the next), so where you can hear two sources, there are no issues.

Streaming services I use are internet radio stations such as radioparadise.com (I send them $5 a month). Others include local terrestrial radio stations online feeds as well as foreign sites.

I buy a lot of music on iTunes and have a large library stored locally (over 10,000 items).

 

[Freesound]

I'm using Qobuz via PiCoreAudio. But if my hard drive with my music library is connected to the RaspberryPi, I prefer it.

 

[EgidioAmato]

Hello, by my side I use Audirvana + Audirvana remote (App) to feed my DAC. Hi-res files (Flac & DSD) are stored on a Synology NAS.

 

[Tharrigan56]

I am currently using Eversolo's A6 Master as the streaming device and Tidal with Roon to play and organize music. So far, I'm extremely happy with the quality and flexibility of this combination. Upgrading my stereo hardware very soon and it will be interesting to hear the difference.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I was going to do the same thing... drop Tidal, but kept procrastinating as well. Then Tidal dropped its price, so I decided to keep it.

It was like a staredown contest, Sonnie. Except you didn't know you were in a staredown. I guess they blinked first!

 

[Todd Anderson]

I am currently using Eversolo's A6 Master as the streaming device and Tidal with Roon to play and organize music. So far, I'm extremely happy with the quality and flexibility of this combination. Upgrading my stereo hardware very soon and it will be interesting to hear the difference.

What kind of gear's on the docket for upgrade?

 

[dobishop]

I use the A6 with Qobuz and Tidal. I do enjoy vinyl but ever since I got the A6 vinyl has taken a backseat mainly because it's easier to sit for a while without having to get up to flip the record.

CDs & DVDAs through Oppo 205 and Apple + for new music.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm surprised you don't have a NAS, Todd... load all your CDs. However, all that music is available with streamers today, so CD libraries may not even be needed. It was certainly time consuming to load them all on the NAS.

I guess I'm surprised, too. But I think you hit the head of the nail – with the exception of a small amount albums, most everything is on a streaming service or someone has uploaded to YouTube in reasonable quality.

 

[MoabUtah]

I don’t stream either. Have ripped my cd’s and they are stored on several hdd’s and USB pen drives. If I’m in the mood for serious listening I use cd’s in the hifi system. But mainly its background pleasure via a HDD in the pc or pen drive on the car. Music gets rotated often for the car hence many pen drives and audiobooks.

 

[rmcadam]

I have Spotify and pay for Tidal. I initially used my Nvidia Pro shield as a streamer but upon the purchase of the Eversolo DMP A8 things are much improved for streaming. I still consider my CD rips and Hi Res downloads superior in sound to streaming Tidal and my first choice for listening. Streaming gives me the opportunity to find new music and good background. My previous preamp DAC the Oppo 205 is still needed for bluray and DVD's with the odd SACD. In terms of sound the A8 was a large improvement. Its one hell of a machine for the money. I dumped vinyl years ago.

 

[Dr.J]

Greetings! I have a nice vinyl setup, but rarely listen to it, these days. I’m using a modified Auralic Aries G1, streaming mostly Tidal and the radio streams from Auralic. I built an Audio Note 4.1 Dac, which I plan to modify again - the sound is so very pleasing, I can get lost in it and the Tidal choices, for hours! I’ve been at this for 44 years … am very pleased, at this point.

 

[jevel]

I love vinyl, but am too lazy. Tidal on my laptop and my trusty old Hegel HD20 that has been updated with new filter caps. And pre amped with Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 MKll

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I'm a little surprised at how many have given up vinyl. I gave it up back in the mid-eighties, right after the CD came out. I tried to come back to it on the cheap over ten years ago, but it didn't work. Then I decided to try again recently with a quality turntable and a properly set-up system. It worked this time, and I'm loving it. There is some nostalgia to it for me, especially with all the older LPs we own. However, it hasn't replaced streaming for us.

 

[pegolea]

I listen to vinyl, but I also stream. In my main system I stream via Auralic Aries S1 (streamer and DAC in one). Since I'm using Roon and have another setup I stream to that system via Roon directly to my DAC.

 

[willrock66]

I use Yamaha A8A and Sony WF-1000XM5 with Tidal and Amazon Music Unlimited

 

[Jack1949]

I'm one of those that don't stream, rather I purchase music as I have for many years. In 2014 after I retired, I ripped all of my CDs to FLAC files on my PC and started using JRiver for playback. Since then I've been purchasing/downloading hi-res music from HDTracks and prostudiomasters. I have also used JRiver to copy playlists to USB drives for listening in the car. As an old fart, I can't express how much I've appreciated how much the audio quality has improved since the days of 78 and 45 RPM records in the 50s and 60s!

 

[aggielaw]

Great to see all the replies here! I use an SOtM SMS-1000sq with roon and TIDAL. I also use HQPlayer integration to upscale to DSD512, but only for classical music, as I find that is the only genre that benefits from PCM to DSD conversion in my system.

 

[Calypso]

Streamer - Eversolo DMP-A6, ripped CDs on the local SSD

Music Services - Apple Music (Family Plan), Amazon Music (Prime member), Qobuz Subscription, Spotify

Listen to CDs and vinyl - gets me off the couch Vinyl path is analog all the way to the speakers, all other sources are room corrected using the MiniDSP FLEX.

 

[MeJ]

I can't conceive of being deaf enough to listen to vinyl again, except for transcription purposes. I suppose if my ears deteriorate enough to enjoy it -- it won't matter. I detest whole house music systems, I only use paid Tidal to keep an ear on new releases, and only listen in my studio. If I threw a party (unlikely as most of my previous friends and colleagues are dead or live more than 3000 miles away) I guess I could stream Tidal or Spotify to my yard system. Nowadays I tend to prefer silence overall... My car is the main place I'd listen and I don't because my wife is almost entirely deaf, and as such music (with a lumpy bandwidth for her of about 2K) really disturbs her, so I refrain. There's no chance of streaming to my car in rural Spain in a valley with no 3g let alone 4g or higher, so I still use CDs or a re-broadcast device, when I am driving on my own.

 

[Joe2521]

I have a Wiim Pro conected via toslink to a Topping E50 running TRS to a Topping LA90. I use Tidal to stream flac now that they have stopped pushing MQA to the forefront.

 

[infinite1der]

Using a Wiim Pro to a Denafrips Venus 2 to a Schiit Freya+. I'm mostly using Amazon Music HD, but also have my NAS and occasionally stream from YouTube Music.

 

[Jacques Bournival]

While I enjoy listening to vinyl, I also stream music in various ways. We have HEOS for our whole-house background music, but we use Roon (Nucleus One) with subs to Tidal and Qobuz for more serious listening. The main listening and theater room uses a StormAudio MK3 processor. Other listening rooms have a WiiM Ultra and Eversolo DMP-A6 to access Roon. We have Amazon Music Unlimited, but we rarely use it. I've tried iTunes, but I've stuck mostly with Tidal and Qobuz due to my Roon lifetime subscription and how well it organizes and integrates our local music with the streaming music library. Now that I'm retired, discovering new music and rediscovering old music has never been more fun.

How about you... if you stream music, what streamers and subscriptions do you use?

While I enjoy listening to vinyl, I also stream music in various ways. We have HEOS for our whole-house background music, but we use Roon (Nucleus One) with subs to Tidal and Qobuz for more serious listening. The main listening and theater room uses a StormAudio MK3 processor. Other listening rooms have a WiiM Ultra and Eversolo DMP-A6 to access Roon. We have Amazon Music Unlimited, but we rarely use it. I've tried iTunes, but I've stuck mostly with Tidal and Qobuz due to my Roon lifetime subscription and how well it organizes and integrates our local music with the streaming music library. Now that I'm retired, discovering new music and rediscovering old music has never been more fun.

How about you... if you stream music, what streamers and subscriptions do you use

 

[Jacques Bournival]

I have digitized (ALAC lossless) all my CDs and some cassette tapes to an Asustor NAS (12 TB). I use Plex (lifetime membership) to stream the music wherever I am. As a backup, I subscribe to Apple Music Match, from which I can stream to any Apple app (albeit at a lower quality). I started to buy digital music files a few years ago at up to 192kHz. To listen in my living room, I presently use my Apple TV to connect to the NAS and stream (Plex) to my Denon Amp; using the built-in DAC. I plan in the near future to change the Amp for a better one with an improved DAC or get a separate one. I do not subscribe to any music service, but I do listen to free public radio streams.